The What-if Box
by Leprechaun123
Summary: Sometimes a simple conversation can show you the way things were meant to be...


**The What-if Box**

The day was perfect. One would say that it must be magic that kept the weather in England as good as it was. Not a hint of rain; the sun shining down on the crowd. It was the morning of the greatest wedding of the century. Well... no. Actually that's a bit of an exaggeration. It was the day of the most anticipated wedding in the Wizarding World; the wedding of Miss Ginerva Weasley and Mr Harry Potter. It was a day to be enjoyed.

If only, one of the guests wasn't focused on the presence of one of the others. He had been glaring at her the whole way through the processional and now that they were waiting for dinner, it was time to talk. Downing a glass of courage (or rather champagne), he excused himself and marched over to her.

"You weren't meant to be here," he hissed.

"I wasn't? It's my best friend's wedding. Surely you're the one not meant to be here," she retorted. He raised an eyebrow.

"Do you not listen to Potter these days? He's my partner in the Auror Department. We get on quite well when we're not being gits. Of course I'd be here," he responded, a condescending look settling on his face.

"Well, we've established _why_ we're here. Let's leave it at that and just not talk to each other. It's only one day. We'll get through it," she turned back towards the wedding, watching the photos with a small smile. He huffed behind her before glancing around. Satisfied that no one was watching, he firmly (but gently) gripped her arm and pulled her into an unoccupied room. He escorted her over to a set of couches and with a push, encouraged her to sit down. When she did _eventually_ sit down, he sat on a couch opposite her and leaned forward, balancing his elbows on his knees.

"I don't think you understand," he started. He dropped his head into his hands, trying to collect his thoughts. He lifted his head and studied those chocolate eyes staring at him. "I had managed to convince myself that you wouldn't be here. That you wouldn't stir up these feelings. That I wouldn't see you and contemplate what if again."

As every statement dropped from his lips, her eyes grew wider; those chocolate orbs digested every word. The way he spoke, it sounded like he was confessing something but that couldn't be possible. His fiancée was sitting in the other room.

"Hold on, what? What do you mean _these feelings_?" she questioned. He leaned back as his hands began to tap a beat on his knees, contemplating the question.

"When we were in our final year, I _may_ have developed some sort of feelings for you..."

"You never spoke to me. You tolerated the boys but never me. I thought the prejudice still stood against me," she interrupted.

"The prejudice fell from against you when we were about fifteen. You were always better than me in class. I learned to accept it. I just... I couldn't speak to you after everything that had happened," he halted. She raised an eyebrow in challenge. "I just knew that every time I wanted to talk to you, I chickened out. No Gryffindor bravery in me."

She leaned back into the couch, studying the boy... no, _man_ in front of her. She moved her gaze down to her hands, her fingers playing with the ring settled on one. She took a deep breath and looked back at him.

"Final year, you changed. You weren't that terrified little boy and the more the boys talked about you, the more I wanted to get to know you. But you never gave me that chance. You decided that you weren't good enough. You took my choice away. I did think I had feelings for you but I never got the chance to find out. I may have had feelings for you that I imagined. Now we'll never know," she monologued. She glanced over at the bubbly blonde chatting at the side of the room. He followed her gaze.

"I don't know what to do about Tori," he confessed.

"What do you mean? You marry her," she demanded, "and you put me in the "what if" box."

"The what if box?" he asked, amused.

"Yes, the box of things that could have happened for you but didn't," she explained. "The box that could have changed your life but you're thankful it didn't." He still looked unconvinced. She sighed deeply. "Do you love her?"

He looked at the girl across the room, a small smile easily coming over his lips. "Yeah, I do," he admitted.

"Then marry her," she smiled slightly sadly, "and I marry him," she moved her head to focus on her fiancé. He turned to look back at the girl in front of him.

"The What if box, right?" he asked. She nodded slowly.

"The what if box; just know that you've been in mine for years," she admitted.

He nodded pensively.

"I'm glad we had this talk. Closure before going into marriage," he chuckled dryly. She smiled at him.

"I'm glad we cleared the air. However, I feel we need to re-join the party before someone questions what is going on," she said. He nodded quickly. He stood up and offered a hand to help her up.

"Until we meet again, Ms Granger," he bowed slightly, a smile of mirth coating his lips. She shook her head in amusement.

"Until then, Mr Malfoy," she replied, brushing off her skirt before going back into the party.

"Until then... Hermione."

**THE END**

**This came from a weird place. Knowing that a guy that I haven't seen in a while is going to be at my best friend's wedding and knowing that a) he's engaged and b) there's things I would have loved to tell him, I think this is me getting it out. An acceptance of things that can't be changed. **

**As always, read and review. And possibly apologies for this one. **


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